


How To Overcome Writer's Block (Hopefully)

by sueperhero



Category: Borderlands
Genre: 30 Days of Writing, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-09 21:16:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6923653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sueperhero/pseuds/sueperhero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>30 Days, 30 Prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ghost Slayers

**Author's Note:**

> So my written finals are over (finally!) and there's some time left till my oral final, but unfortunately writer's block keeps me from updating Camp Hyperion. The lovely Geequy has suggested making up prompts for me, so I'll "learn" how to write again. First of all, thanks Esme! I appreciate your help a lot. <3  
> This will be updated every other day 'cause I'm doing an art challenge at the same time, so I'll have a little variety. I'm adding relationships and characters as they occur in a story. I'll also be crossposting this on my Tumblr, so if you wanna check that out --> sueperhero.tumblr.com 
> 
> And now, have fun and enjoy this ride with me!

**Day 1**

**Prompt:** A group of five people is visiting a haunted mansion. 

  * Person A: scaredy-pants 
  * Person B: acts like the hero 
  * Person C: is out of it 
  * Person D: has got a rational explanation for everything 
  * Person E: separates from the group 



 

**Ghost Slayers**

 

_“And this week on Ghost Slayers …”_

 

Jack was talking to the camera like the professional he was, saying the same words he said every week. Their boss always did the intro; he had an impressive and comforting voice and well, he was the face of Hyperion after all.  
Of course it was also his idea to call this magnificent TV programme _Ghost Slayers_. Every time Rhys heard that stupid name, he had to roll his eyes. Why the hell would you name a ghost hunting show like this? It sounded ridiculous and immature and more like a comedy version of a horror movie.

 

“Well let’s get going, kiddos. This is the haunted Mansion of Elpis. Pre—tty impressive, right?” Jack pressed his hands into his hips and looked around for the other’s impressions.

 

“Yes very impressive, sir. You always come up with the best ide-“

 

“-Shut up, wallethead. No one asked for your opinion.”

Well actually, he _did,_ Rhys thought. Not that he cared. On the contrary, he hated Vasquez to bits and he loved to see that Jack didn’t give a damn about him, but still – he _did_ ask for their opinions.

 

The procedure was always the same. They walked around town, bribing people into making up stories about the location. Jack then got them in front of the camera with him, listened to those made up stories and acted all shocked and compassionate. After that compilation of people being all scared, Jack looked into the camera again and gave his catch phrase:

_“Don’t be frightened, your safety is our duty!”_

 

It was disgusting, really. But still Rhys couldn’t feel anything but admiration. Jack’s acting was on point and the way he used his voice—dang, even he would believe all this bullshit. Rhys was certain that their viewing figures only reached those incredible high numbers because of Jack. One day, he would be just like his boss.

 

“Hey, hey Rhysie-cakes, you still with us?” Jack was waving his hand in front of Rhys’ face. For how long did he do this already? Rhys’ cheeks turned red and he nodded – almost too eagerly. “Good because we wanna go in. You ready, cupcake?”

 

He nodded again, strapped his backpack on with the equipment in it and followed his colleagues into the mansion.

***

 

“Guys, wait a minute.”

 

No one really paid attention to Hugo; Rhys and Yvette put their backpacks on the ground and helped Vaughn to unpack the equipment. Then the both of them looked around the entrance hall while Vaughn set up the cameras and microphones.

 

Vasquez just stood there – still under the door frame - shivering. He had this strange feeling he couldn’t explain and all he wanted was to get out of there. This was the ninth episode of Ghost Slayers, but no other location had had this scary vibe about it.

 

"Don't piss your pants, wallethead."

 

Vasquez jumped a bit as he heard Jack's voice and immediately tried to man up. His boss stood a few inches away in front of him eyeing Hugo smugly.

 

His feeling, though, didn't go away. This mansion was different from the places they visited before. Vasquez couldn't explain what made him feel like this, but his intuition never failed him. So he summoned all his courage to tell Jack what he was worrying about. Hugo took a step forward and the door snapped shut behind him. He bursted into shivers and _this_ was the final sign that he _had_ to talk to his boss.

 

"Jack-- sir, I have a really, _really_ bad feeling about this place. I think it would be better for all of us to leave and find another location to shoot the episode at."

 

Jack frowned, but then a warm smile appeared upon his face and Hugo instantly felt relieved. Something he should've unlearned by now since he knew Jack's face didn't give away his true feelings.

"You see, dum-dum if you can't handle this, get the fuck out of here."

 

"S-sir?"

 

"You've heard me, wallethead. Get the fuck out of here, call the administration and tell them you'll come for your belongings tomorrow."

 

"B-but, sir."

 

"Get. The. Fuck. **_Out_**."

 

Jack was furious. Everyone else in the hall stopped what they were doing and looked at the two men - interested, intimidated, but also a little mischievous. Vasquez just gulped before turning around to leave this horrible place. He loved his job, but he would not argue with Jack just to get the permission to stay here. Oh no, definitely not.

 

So Hugo reached for the handle and tried to open the door. Unsuccessfully. He could already feel a few beads of sweat on his forehead, but tried again - this time leaning against the door. Unsuccessfully again.

 

“G-guys…?”

 

Jack rolled his eyes and stepped next to Vasquez. “ _Very_ funny, kiddo. This stupid joke will cost you more than your job.” He edged Hugo off and tried to open the front door himself. His face turned pale when he realized he couldn’t.

 

Vasquez let out a little whimper. “We’re all gonna die here.”

 

“Everybody calm down!” Finally someone else spoke up. Vaughn still seemed sober and reliable – not scared a bit. He would get them out of here. “The lock is pretty old and those things wear out after a while. No need to think about our last will now.” He even smiled saying that last bit; he really calmed the others down.

 

“Vaughn is right”, Rhys said. “Let’s just find another way out of here, okay? And get some footage while we’re looking.”

 

“That’s my boy!” Jack chuckled and patted his back. “Always thinking of the company.” Rhys blushed again, but he couldn’t enjoy the little touch for too long. There was work to be done.

***

 

They’ve been wandering around the mansion for about two hours when the strange events started to occur.

 

“Wait, we’ve been here before.” Rhys scratched his head. “I – I remember this wallpaper!”

 

“Yeah, well, it is not forbidden to have the same wallpaper in two different rooms, Rhys.” Yvette smirked, but it was obvious that she felt uncomfortable.

 

“No, no, no.” Rhys took the camera from Vaughn and got closer to the wall. He zoomed in focusing the big black stain on it. “Look, I made a joke about that stain earlier. I said it looked like Henderson’s dick. Right? Vaughn?” Rhys’ fixated his gaze on his best friend.

 

Vaughn got on his knees next to Rhys and shrugged. “It’s a stain, Rhys. They all look the same … somehow.” The crew knew this was no coincidence. The rooms repeated somehow – in a strange and irregular way, but no one dared to think this thought. No one but Rhys.

 

“Guys, seriously!” All of his composure from earlier was gone, Rhys was just a quivering mess by now. “Something _really_ bad is happening here and no one is talking about it!” He grimaced as he took a step back and looked around for something – Rhys didn’t really know for _what_ exactly himself. But he found it eventually. The camera in his hands began to flicker as if it was taking a thousand photos.

 

“Rhys, what are you doing?!” Yvette sounded anxious; her eyes widened in fear.

 

“I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING!” He dropped the camera and broke out in tears. Rhys couldn’t handle this anymore.

 

“Rhys, relax!” Jack got closer and wrapped his arms around the young man. “Shh, I’m gonna get us out of here. I promise.”

 

“This is enough! I’m leaving.” The woman sounded angry and determined. She turned around and left through the door back into the direction they came from.

 

“But Yvette-“ Vaughn was still shouting for her when she passed a few more rooms, but Yvette was walking fast, almost running – as if she could escape this nightmare that way.

 

Eventually she got back into the entrance hall and the woman couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw that the front door was open again. “Thank God”, Yvette sighed and felt nothing but joy and relief. She could get out of here and call for help. Vaughn was probably right and this mansion had just played a little trick on all of their minds. Finally Yvette reached the door, but it snapped shut again right in front of her. Anger filled her now and she hammered at the door – crying.

 

~*~*~*~

 


	2. I Saw Daddy Kissing Ironman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was the reason why Angel enjoyed those nights so much; her daddy was proud of her and he even showed it, he introduced her not as Angel, but as his Angel - as if she was an accomplishment. The endless days of waiting for him at home, always being a nice girl, not complaining – it all came down to those nights when he showed her and everyone else how proud he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geequy comes up with the best prompts.   
> Seriously, gurl, you're amazing and I'm glad you're going through this thing together with me!

**Day 2**

**Prompt:** Dress up time! Handsome Jack is throwing a costume party.   
Theme: superheroes

 

**I Saw Daddy Kissing Ironman**

Angel was 8 years old when her daddy started throwing the costume parties. It was her favorite time of every month. As CEO of Hyperion, Handsome Jack had always been busy, there had always been something to do, someone to meet or somewhere to be. Angel was proud of her dad – at least to the extent she could understand what being CEO of a big company meant – but it sucked that she never got to spent time with him.

 

That’s why the costume parties were glorious. Meg and Tim came to visit a week before the event started and they helped decorating their place - or rather the ballroom on the basement floor. Sometimes they even painted the walls in a different color (because it suited the theme better) and that meant Angel could spend a whole week by the side of her father.

 

“Dad?”, the little girl asked one evening during one of those decoration weeks. They were having dinner and Meg left already. “Does the company not need you? I mean, you suddenly started to throw these parties and you always take a whole week off.”

 

Jack smiled, pushed his chair back a bit and patted on his leg. His daughter followed the silent request and sat down on his lap. “Well- you see, cutie pie, I’ve got this new PA. He’s a really good fellow and I trust him enough to run the place on his own for a week when I’m absent. Why is this bothering you, though?”

 

“I don’t know.” Angel bit her lip, she tried not to look him straight in the eye, so her gaze kept wandering around the dining room.  “I was just wondering – no, never mind.”

 

“Spit it out, sweet cheeks.”

 

“Can’t this guy— do this – more frequently?”

 

“More frequently?”, Jack repeated raising an eyebrow.

 

The girl averted her eyes. She didn’t know what to say or how to explain what was on her mind. So Angel just dropped the subject and wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck placing little kisses on his cheeks. “Don’t mind me, I’m just so excited about the costume party on Saturday.”

 

Something was off and it was obvious, but the CEO didn’t have the time to think about it. Angel would be fine. And he was pretty excited about the party himself.

***

Jack was carrying Angel around in his arms. He was wearing a black cape and a new mask that had a slight Phantom of the Opera-look. Angel had put on her Elsa costume and when Meg told her that Elsa was a princess and not a superhero, the child laughed and said “how do you explain her superpowers then?”. Meg didn’t know how to answer that, so she let her wear it.

 

The hall was filled with people and they greeted every single one of them. They’ve done a great job decorating the room; it looked tasteful and not too cheesy. They’ve set up fairy lights in various colors and painted superhero logos on the walls. Almost every guest commented on that and Angel blushed when Jack told them she’d been a great help with the preparations.

 

This was the reason why Angel enjoyed those nights so much; her daddy was proud of her and he even showed it, he introduced her not as Angel, but as _his_ Angel - as if she was an accomplishment. The endless days of waiting for him at home, always being a nice girl, not complaining – it all came down to those nights when he showed her _and everyone else_ how proud he was.

 

“Rhys! Pal! There you are.” Jack adjusted Angel in his arms and walked up to a tall young man. “This – baby doll – is my new PA I was telling you about the other day. Rhys – this is my Angel.”

 

“Hey, nice to meet you.” The man took off his Ironman mask, so Angel could see his warm and genuine smile. He looked nice. 

 

“And we’re glad you could finally make it to one of our costume parties. You missed out on the last one, it was genius.” Jack said it. **_Our._** Those were **_their_** parties and no one could ever take this from Angel – her favorite part of the month.

***

 

It was late at night and many guests left already. It was so late that Angel had stopped counting how many hours ago she would have had to go to bed on an ordinary day. She stuffed herself with the leftovers from the expensive buffet and an uncomfortable feeling slowly began to fill her. The party was almost over and tomorrow the daily routine would restart. She looked around the room hoping she could spot Jack, so he would praise her a last time for tonight, but she couldn’t see him anywhere.

 

Where did he go?

 

She left the ballroom and kept looking for her dad on the first floor. She froze when she heard a familiar voice and giggling from the living room.

 

She approached the room slowly and hid behind the open door to sneak a peek inside.  There he was – Jack – standing in front of the fireplace with the guy dressed up as Ironman (what was his name again?). Her father had his arms wrapped around the man’s waist, their faces were so close. Angel couldn’t make out what they were saying since both of them whispered, but her eyes widened as Jack’s face got even closer to the face of the Ironman.

 

The girl covered her mouth to hold back a gasp when the men’s lips met. _Her father was kissing Ironman in their living room_ ; that was all she could be thinking. Over and over again. _And it certainly looked pretty badass._

~*~*~*~

 

                                                                                 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out rather short, but writer's block is still a thing and I just hope my stuff gets longer over time again.   
> Also I meant to write a funny, sexy thing where all the BL characters are dressed up as something and there are hot orgies, but my mind wanted to write about a sad young angel, so \\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I hope you still like it and also I didn't fail the prompt completely, hah!


	3. Misfits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was funny seeing the six people sitting on the rooftop; they were all not really that different – in their bright orange jumpsuits. Even so they had no idea that they had more in common than just the fact that they had to endure 200 hours of community service. But how do you even go about telling strangers you recently got superpowers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't stop thanking Esme. This prompt was especially fun to write! I love Misfits to bits and I think a Rhack fic in the Misfits universe would be so rad. If someone wants to write an actual fic about it (or even has already), please tell me 'cause I'd definitely want to read it.

**Day 3**

**Prompt:** “I think we just killed a probation officer…again” - Misfits AU

 

**Misfits**

 

“So, why are you guys here?” Jack leaned back in his chair and took a sip of the soda he got from the vending machine earlier. His twin brother sat next to him – pouting – he still thought it was really unfair that Jack dragged him into all of this.

 

It was quiet for some time till the black haired girl with the strange cowboy hat raised her voice. “I’ve beaten up some losers and apparently that’s illegal.” She shrugged.

 

The group looked to the guy who sat next to her. He obviously got uncomfortable shifting around on his chair. “Well – hello, I’m Rhys and I-“

 

“-Gosh, cupcake, this is not a support group.” Jack chuckled and the whole group laughed – except for Rhys and Tim.

 

“However”, he then said – with more confidence in his voice this time. “I – well, I um stole some pick ‘n’ mix.” Everyone went silent.

 

Jack’s mouth was wide open till he could find his words again. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

 

Rhys shrugged, but smiled victoriously. “Maybe, maybe not.” That Jack-guy was an ass. When they first met he introduced them to his twin brother – Timothy – and told the guys that Tim would come around instead of him a few times. What an ass. He made his brother do the community service he was supposed to do. The worst, though was that after that day they always came together. Jack would just sit around and make stupid jokes while Tim did the work. Ugh.

 

“Well, my turn. I’m Tim and I’m here because my stupid brother burned down a house.”  


“Hey, hey. It was your fault - to be fair.”

 

“Why the heck would that be my fault?”

 

“That guy was bullying you! Of course I gotta be protecting my little brother!” 

 

The girl with the dreadlocks went “aw” and drew Jack's attention to her and Fiona.

              

“So, what did you two do?”

 

Sasha looked at her sister as if she were asking for permission to tell and Fiona nodded giving her that permission.

“Well, let’s see. Fraud, theft, sexual seduction-“

 

“-What, sexual seduction is not a crime.” Timothy raised an eyebrow.

 

Fiona smirked. “It is, honey, at least if you tape it and try to bribe the other party with it later.”

 

He gulped and started shifting around on his chair – just as Rhys did before. Such conversations made Timothy really uncomfortable.

 

“But the crime is blackmailing then – not sexual seduction”, Jack added to the discussion.

 

“Well, yes – yeah, you’re right, but it just sounded cooler.”

 

It was funny seeing the six people sitting on the rooftop; they were all not really that different – in their bright orange jumpsuits. Even so they had no idea that they had more in common than just the fact that they had to endure 200 hours of community service. But how do you even go about telling strangers you recently got superpowers?

  
***

 

“You know, we don’t have to do it like this. Once community service is over, we can just go our separate ways.”

 

“Dude, just get back in there. We already talked about this. You’re a part of me and I’m not letting you go. I don’t know the side-effects. What if I start to disappear if you’re out of our— my body for too long?” Jack threw the cigarette stub away and leaned against an apartment building. “I can’t risk that.”

***

                                                                                               

Rhys had returned to his animal form; it was just more convenient to find food as a fox since he could eat almost everything – no, really _everything_ when he was running around like this.

 

It was ridiculous that stealing a bunch of sweets got him into all of this; sometimes he thought about just staying a fox and running away from here. What did he have to lose? His excuse of a family wouldn’t miss him; they didn’t when he stayed outside for several days. Did they even notice he was away?

***

 

“Hey, pretty girl. Wanna join us tonight?”

 

It was 2am and Nisha just got out of the club. It had been a blast. At least she thought it was. Emotions didn’t affect her anymore, but so didn’t physical damage. She was invulnerable in every possible way – good or bad.

                                                                                                                      

The guys in front of her reeked of vodka and sweat. They’ve been following her in the club and now even outside. She wasn’t looking for trouble – not tonight.

  
“Leave me alone.”

  
“Oh-oh, what’s up with that lose tongue of yours? You really wanna talk to two gentlemen like that?”

 

“I said leave me alone – scum.”

 

“You shouldn’t have said that.” The smaller guy took out a little knife and went right for Nisha’s upper body. The knife cut through her chest flesh making a terrible noise when hitting the rib cage. He let go of it when he saw her blank face. Nisha just got the knife out and the wound healed immediately. 

 

The two men stared at each other in shock as if they were making sure they’ve just seen the same thing and it wasn’t an illusion – and ran off.

***

 

Sasha sat on their bed, she was staring out of the window.

  
“Are you okay?” Fiona sat in front of the little mirror and brushed her hair. “You did well today, you know? Seems as if you’re learning to control that crazy shit.”

 

“I was just easing the atmosphere in there. I got some bad vibes from Jack. He’s an idiot.”

 

Fiona laughed and got up to join her sister on the bed. “No shit, Sherlock. I don’t need to be an emotion controller to realize that. He’s a twat.”

***

**Two weeks later**

 

"Hello, guys. Nice to meet you. I'm Meg, your new probation officer."

 

"New probation officer? Well, what happened to the old one?" Fiona crossed her arms. Axton had been missing since roughly two weeks ago. He just suddenly didn't come to the community center anymore.

                                                                                           

Meg seemed a little uncertain whether she should tell them or not. Those in front of her were criminals, but still they were also teenagers, after all.

 

"We -- we don't know what really happened, but we found him a few days ago. Or rather-- his body."

 

Rhys and Jack looked at each other and grimaced. They seemed worried, almost scared. Then Jack indicated him to leave the aula. He wanted to speak to Rhys – alone; they needed a plan. After a few more minutes, Jack also left the aula and met his friend in the corridor pulling him into another room instantly and closing the door behind them.

 

“F-fuck, Jack. What do we do now? _They found his body.”_

 

“How could that happen, though? You said that place would be safe!”

 

“The fuck do I know.” Rhys lowered his gaze, he couldn’t look Jack straight in the eye. “I _thought_ it would be.”

 

“Okay, stay calm. We got this. They won’t find us. You bit him. It’ll look as if an animal just tore him to pieces.”

 

Rhys gulped. “Well, _thanks_ for reminding me.”

 

“Rhys--” Jack grabbed him by the shoulders and now forced Rhys to look him straight into his eyes. “He was attacking us – me. You saved me, dude. You’re a hero.”

                                                                                                   

“I lost control! There’s nothing to be proud of, Jack.”                

 

The atmosphere was intense, but in an uncomfortable way. The two of them were standing there – as friends, partners in crime and they didn’t know what to do. Unfortunately they didn’t notice that the door had been opened quietly. When they realized someone overheard there conversation, Meg was standing in the middle of the room already. Her face spoke volumes.

 

“I-I’ll need to report this.”

 

“Hey-“ Meg tried to leave the room, but Jack raised his voice and blocked off the way. “HEY. Listen! It was an accident.”

 

Meg was _terrified._ She didn’t believe a word he said and she thought those two boys were dangerous. “Get out of the way.”

 

“No.”

 

Rhys was terrified himself. The probation officer would go to the police and then they’d be scuppered. “Please, Meg, listen to us.”

 

But Meg _didn’t_ listen. She was scared and determined. “Get out of the way or I’ll scream.”

 

“Meg, ple-“                                    

The woman opened her mouth wide, but Jack was faster and immediately grabbed her by the waist and covered it. “For fuck’s sake, Meg!”

 

Rhys just stood there, the word _please_ still on his lips, but _please_ wouldn’t save them now.

 

Meg was kicking and trying to break free, so Jack had to tighten his clutch. He looked just as clueless as Rhys and that was terrifying. Their eyes met again and they stared at each other for a few seconds before Jack shouted swear words. He was in pain and it didn’t take long for Rhys to understand why. Meg bit him and now she pushed him away and ran for the door again.

 

Rhys panicked; he grabbed the garden tool near to him - while Jack still held his hand in pain - and just one hit with it made the women go down. The shovel fell to the ground and Rhys inspected the body—shocked. She didn’t move anymore.

 

Jack knelt down and took Meg’s wrist to feel her pulse. “She’s dead.” He didn’t sound startled or worried. The words came out sober and distant. She didn’t mean anything to him, after all.

 

“I—I didn’t want to. Jack, I was just scared.”

 

“Shhh.” Jack raised from his knees and approached his friend. He enfolded Rhys in his arms and held him close. “I know you didn’t mean to. It was an accident. You protected me—us. You did great, pumpkin.”

 

Tears were rolling down Rhys’ face, but he smiled. It was nice to be held like this. It was nice to hear such encouraging words. It was nice someone acknowledged him. 

“J-jack?" I think we just killed a probation officer – again.”

 

~*~*~*~                                                                                              


End file.
